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Dylan Takes on "Factory Girl"

2006_12_arts_dylanwarhol.jpg

Seems like "Factory Girl" may take a little longer to come out than originally thought. Bob Dylan and his team of lawyers want to stop the movie from seeing the light of day. Dylan says the upcoming Edie Sedgwick film falsely suggests he was responsible for her suicide.

According to Page Six, the lawyers sent a letter to producers of the film, Bob Yari and Holly Wiersma, and screenwriter Aaron Richard Golub, demanding it not be released or screened until they see it. They stated:

"You appear to be laboring under the misunderstanding that merely changing the name of a character or making him a purported fictional composite will immunize you from suit. That is not so. Even though Mr. Dylan's name is not used, the portrayal remains both defamatory and a violation of Mr. Dylan's right of publicity . . .

"Until we are given an opportunity to view the film, we hereby demand that all distribution and screenings . . . immediately be ceased."

The Dylan character in the film goes by the name "Danny Quinn" (apparently a composite name of Dylan, Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger) - but originally was Dylan's real name (not to mention he plays harmonica and looks like Dylan - as much as Hayden Christensen can look like Dylan). When Quinn breaks up with Sedgwick in the film, it sends her on downward spiral until she overdoses on barbiturates in 1971, and that is where the controversy comes in. Check out the trailer here.

Lou Reed, who has slammed the film, has yet to come out asking his name be changed in it. Or for that matter, suggest that someone other than Weezer guitarist Brian Bell portray him.

It's also been reported that after Warhol gave Dylan that Elvis painting, above, he used it as a dart board.

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Comments [rss]

  • silver spray

    This Hollywood movie is a perfect example of the kind of falsity that Edie hated- She always said "It must be real" otherwise it wasn't worth doing. The lies that this film has perpetrated about Dylan are terrible, and I am glad he is doing something about it, but the real horror is the way in which they have treated Edie's life- She deserves to have her real story told, because that kind of truth telling is what she was passionate about.

    -www.edienation.com

  • Nick

    How could Warhol have used the painting as a dart board if he gave it to Dylan?

  • L

    "It's also been reported that after Warhol gave Dylan that Elvis painting, above, he used it as a dart board."

    Actually I'm pretty sure he traded it to Albert Grossman, his manager, for a couch.

  • mikey

    Interesting point. I guess publicity is a shared affair. "If Not For You."

    Dylan is usually pretty wise allowing for a variety of multiple meanings.

  • "Right of publicity"? That's a new one.

  • lawyer hate

    I give credit to Lou Reed for having balls. Dylan had to get a team of lawyers to spit on the First Amendment to protect his ass. Reed's comments were more effective, and he didn't even have to clog up our legal system to make his case.

  • jamesy

    Who cares? It's just a movie. I remember when the concept of a movie was to suspend disbelief for an hour and a half and, after that, we go back to our real lives.

  • Mikey

    "Gotta Serve Somebody" was pretty great also

  • drewo

    Bobby Z wrote "Quinn the Eskimo".

  • Mikey

    Weezer Playing The Velvet Underground: Sickening

    .....I hate that fucking Buddy Holly song with a passion. I don't hate Weezer, my old roommate the sketch comedian was friends with a few of them back in Boston in the 90's and they sound like cool enough people. I love the Velvet Undeground, depressing or atonal, most modern rock music originates from them when it is not coming from the Beatles or Stones, which came from southern blues. We all know that. Lately in the press, Dylan has been whining about not killing the Warhol chick Edie Sedgwick or whatever, but all those chicks were over dramatic druggie suicide cases. We all know the type. What a bunch of self-centered bores. Dylan dude it wasn't your fault...it is never anyone's fault in a suicide except the coward that gets really high then low and makes a retarded decision to speed up their personal reincarnation to water bug faster than necessary. Get off it, if the people that watch this movie are too dim-witted in the noggan and actually believe Bob Dylan killed some great artist in the making, well how many great artists did Dylan save? What's more believable? I guess that's why I always prefer musicians over actors. It gets confusing when you can do both. Funny how it pisses so many people off and makes a good debate. We all must be really tired of what's going on. Morons pick your sides. Legalize abortion, an eye for an eye build your own electric chair, we can all drink from the same water fountain and drugs make you a better person, let's let the governement control them along with the media that is not on the internet, but noone's reading this editorial or self-indulgent rant anyway, everyone's eyes and genitals are too sore from the blaring porn and empty orgasm after orgasm.



    What a bunch of Hollywood Fucking Garbage! Go see this movie and make the people in it really rich and hopefully they'll all overdose on barbituates like Edie Sedgewick and then we can make ridiculously off the mark movies about those assholes.

    http://nyccheckitout.blogspot.com/ (originally posted on local blog)

  • jack oneil

    Hands up, who cares??

  • Wasn't it Bobby Newwirth (Dylan's right hand man) who coupled up with Edie, not Bob himself?

    I was kind of psyched to see it, but now not so much. Either write a thinly-disguised fiction or just tell the true story... somebody should, it's a great tale.

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